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We were offered an opportunity to interview PetroTiger board chairman, Mauricio Camargo who wanted to give the company’s position on the case of former executives accused in the US of bribing a now ex-Ecopetrol employee.

Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) will invest US$243M into its operations in Colombia, which amounts more than half of its planned investment for 2014 across all of its operations. The investment will primarily go towards 12 wells

Communities and CSRA recurring topic, the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), Amylkar Acosta Media said that advances in training facilities in Meta will mean oil companies no longer have a valid excuse to not hire labor from the local communities.

Following elections last November, the USO has a new president, Edwin Castaño Monsalve, who replaced Rodolfo Vecinos as the head of the union’s national leadership. Castaño looks to expand the USO’s reach towards sub-contracted workers and like his predecessor, has his sights set on Pacific Rubiales (TXS:PRE).

A recurring topic, the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), Amylkar Acosta Media said that advances in training facilities in Meta will mean oil companies no longer have a valid excuse to not hire labor from the local communities.

While 2013 marked a continued transition to the new royalty system and a year of approving projects using these funds and adaptation, 2014 will be the year of execution and seeing the money at work, says the director of the National Planning Department (DNP) Tatyana Orozco de la Cruz.

A corruption scandal involving a pair of US former PetroTiger executives who paid an now ex-Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) engineer more than US$300,000 to win a nearly US$50M contract has rattled Colombia’s oil industry, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) issued a thorough release in which it establishes the engineer was working as a rogue and that the NOC is another victim.

Following up on a pilot program to subsidies the purchase of gas in cylinder the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) says that the subsidies are ready to be claimed by for those who have qualified for the program in select municipalities.

Talisman Energy (NYSE:TLM) is planning to invest US$300M in its operations in Colombia, with an eye on developing identified reserves in the Llanos Orientales CPO-9 and CPE-6 blocks.

The USO has launched into a sustained campaign calling for the release of several members detained for alleged public order crimes during the end of 2013. The union will hold a rally at the headquarters of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and accuses the oil sector, led by Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE), of targeting its organization.